[Weekender] Can radio kill the video star?

In short, the answer is no. But while radio probably won’t get to outshine video, it also won’t lose its place, either. Technology has changed quite a lot since The Buggles released “Video killed the radio star” in 1980 -- but it has not always changed for the better.Screens now have a dominant presence in Korea, where the most common sight of people is with their faces glued to their smartphones that have thousands of videos and other contents demanding simultaneous attention.But has video real

Nov. 17, 2017

First batch of iPhone X sold out in 3 minutes

Due to the short supply of Apple’s most expensive iPhone, the initial preorder volume allocated for the South Korean market ran out within a few minutes Friday, as soon as it was launched. According to mobile carriers here, the first preorder batch of the latest iPhone X sold out in less than five minutes, reflecting high expectations toward Apple’s first smartphone with an organic light-emitting diode screen and face ID function. Unlike the iPhone 8 series that hit shelves last month, the iPhon

Nov. 17, 2017

[Newsmaker] Online video games reclaim spotlight at Korea’s biggest game convention

Online video games have been slowly losing ground in the increasingly mobile-driven gaming sector, but they made a colorful return to the spotlight at South Korea’s biggest game convention G-Star this week.　At the G-Star 2017 that kicked off in Busan on Thursday, hundreds of visitors have been lining up to check out newly showcased PC online games such as Nexon’s “FIFA Online 4,” while cheering on professional gamers at live esports tournaments.Unlike last year, when virtual reality and mobile g

Nov. 17, 2017

iPhone X sold out on first day of preorder on supply shortages

South Korea's mobile carriers said Friday their first preorder batch of U.S. tech giant Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone X smartphones were sold out in a few minutes after being launched here, apparently due to supply shortages.No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said it sold the first batch of iPhone X phones in three minutes after starting preorders. The figure compares to the iPhone 7 released last year, which took 20 minutes to sell all of the initial volume.The second batch of the iPhone X was al

Nov. 17, 2017

Samsung to rank No. 1 in capital spending among chipmakers this year

Capital spending among chipmakers is expected reach $90.8 billion this year, an industry tracker said Friday, with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. leading the pact.According to the data compiled by IC Insights, Samsung Electronics' annual facility investment for this year is estimated at $26 billion, accounting for more than 20 percent of the total investments planned by these companies.The semiconductor market researcher said Samsung is presumed to have allocated $14 billion for the 3D NA

Nov. 17, 2017

[Photo News] G-Star 2017 game convention kicks off in Busan

G-STAR 2017 BEGINS -- Visitors test out online games on PCs on the first day of the G-star global gaming convention, Thursday. The four-day event at Bexco in Busan will feature presentations of new products from top game companies as well as live competitions between professional gamers. (Yonhap)

Nov. 16, 2017

International Vaccine Institute to commercialize new typhoid vaccine by 2021

The International Vaccine Institute, a Seoul-headquartered international nonprofit organization devoted to developing and supplying new vaccines to underdeveloped countries, is preparing to introduce a new typhoid vaccine by 2021.After the successful deployment of the world’s first oral cholera vaccines, the IVI is now working to develop and commercialize a vaccine that prevents typhoid fever in partnership with South Korea’s SK Chemicals, according to IVI Director General Jerome Kim.“Thanks to

Nov. 16, 2017

Korea hosts industrial technology exhibition

South Korea will expand support for research and development efforts by local venture firms and institutes to fully embrace the fourth industrial technology revolution, the commerce ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy launched an industrial technology R&D exhibition at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul, with 122 companies and 560 research institutes and labs from home and abroad. The three-day exhibition presents the latest emerging technologie

Nov. 16, 2017

G-Star 2017 gaming convention to take off in Busan

Global gaming convention G-Star kicks off in Busan on Thursday, showcasing new releases by mobile and PC game makers and hosting a number of esports competitions for popular games.　G-Star 2017 is featuring more than 2,700 booths and bringing together some 650 game companies from 30 countries. Nexon is the event’s main sponsor this year, hosting 300 booths at the venue.　Unlike last year’s edition, where virtual reality and mobile games took center stage, this year’s G-Star is hosting many live ga

Nov. 15, 2017

Samsung to start sales of 'mixed reality' headset

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will release its so-called mixed reality headset in South Korea next week, tapping deeper into the virtual reality gaming industry.The South Korean tech giant said that sales will start on Tuesday of the Samsung Head Mounted Display Odyssey developed with US Microsoft Corp., which can be used to play VR gaming content.First showcased in the US last month, the Samsung HMD Odyssey comes with dual-AMOLED displays, providing users with a view angle of 110 de

Nov. 15, 2017

Regulator voices concerns about data privacy over fintech

The financial technology industry is opening the door to better and cheaper financial services, but regulators need to address concerns about the privacy of customer information, South Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday. Choe Heung-sik, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the remarks during a forum on the fintech industry in Seoul. "Today, fintech innovations are disrupting and unbundling services that have long been the domain of traditional financial service providers,"

Nov. 15, 2017

Samsung, SK hynix log record revenues in Q3 DRAM market

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. posted record revenues in the global market for dynamic random-access memory chips in the third quarter of the year, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange, Samsung's combined sales of DRAM chips came to $8.7 billion in the July-September period, up 15.2 percent from a quarter earlier. That of SK hynix also shot up 22.5 percent to $5.5 billion.Samsung Electronics garnered a whopping 45.8 percen

Nov. 15, 2017

[Graphic News] Life expectancy up 10 years: OECD

　Healthier lifestyles and higher incomes helped increase life expectancy by 10 years in 35 nations in the past half a century, according to the Health at a Glance 2017 report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. 　Out of the OECD’s 35 member countries, life expectancy exceeded 80 years in 25 nations. 　The leading countries are Japan with life expectancy of 83.9 years, as well as Spain and Switzerland with 83 years. Those with the lowest results are Mexico (75) and Latvia (

Nov. 14, 2017

LG expands into medical visual equipment market with full premium lineup

South Korea’s LG Electronics said Tuesday it has unveiled a full lineup of premium medical visual equipment at the Medica 2017 event being held from Monday through Thursday in Germany, with an aim to expand the company’s leadership in premium electronics to the medical market. At the exhibition, LG introduced a diagnosis monitor with an internal calibrator that enhances color representation to help patients see their results of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography tests in an easie

Nov. 14, 2017

Will hologram be next bonanza for Samsung?

From the hologram rally by Amnesty International held near Cheong Wa Dae in 2016 to the late Michael Jackson’s hologram performance at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, one may think hologram technology has come to fruition.However, most holograms we can commonly see today are only pseudo-holograms that can only be seen from one side without 3-D effects. For real holograms like those we can see imagined in science-fiction movies, we still have a long way to go, according to experts.“Real hologram

Nov. 14, 2017

Korea's agricultural technology goes global

South Korea will step up efforts to spread advanced agricultural technology and share farming expertise with developing nations to help them tackle food shortages, a state agency said Tuesday.The Rural Development Administration under the agriculture ministry has developed and shared agricultural technologies customized to developing nations through partnerships with local research institutes. The Korea Program on International Agriculture centers have been established in 20 nations in Asia, Afr

Nov. 14, 2017

TCL to start sales of BlackBerry smartphone in Korea

South Korea's unit of Chinese tech giant TCL Corp. said Tuesday it will start sales of the black edition of BlackBerry's KEYone smartphone here starting next month.The KEYone, which marks the first BlackBerry smartphone to be released in the market after TCL's purchase of the brand last year, runs on Google's Android platform and comes with a QWERTY keypad.It comes with a 12-megapixel camera on the back and an 8-megapixel camera in the front. (Yonhap)TCL Communication Korea said it is currently

Nov. 14, 2017

Watchdog probes Apple for shifting advertisement costs to mobile carriers

South Korea's corporate watchdog is probing US tech giant Apple Inc.'s practice of shifting the cost of advertisements to local mobile carriers, industry sources said Tuesday.South Korea's three mobile carriers started television advertisements for the iPhone 8 earlier this month. According to the sources, local mobile carriers currently bear the full cost of Apple's commercials, which could be considered an unfair business practice."Whenever there's a new product, mobile carriers air the same a

Nov. 14, 2017

[News Focus] Controversy brews over Korea’s carpooling service regulations

South Korean authorities and the local carpooling service industry have recently locked horns over the legality of operating the service around the clock, revealing a disparity between vision and reality in the the new administration’s push to realise its “shared economy” mantra.　Last week, the Seoul Metropolitan Government asked the police to investigate Poolus, a Seoul-based ride-sharing app operator, for breaching local transportation laws after the company began offering its services at any

Nov. 13, 2017

Is Samsung Display to blame for iPhone X’s screen defect?

With reports emerging over abnormal green lines appearing on the edges of the latest iPhone -- the first Apple phone to use organic light-emitting displays -- industry watchers are questioning whether the problem is due to the quality of the active-matrix organic light-emitting diode screens exclusively supplied by Samsung Display, or Apple’s incapability to adopt and manufacture the advanced-screen phones.According to the smartphone parts industry, the main cause of the delayed launch of the iP

Nov. 13, 2017